Running head: THE HISTORY OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS/ TECHNOLOGY

THE HISTORY OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS/ TECHNOLOGY
Maurice A. Jones (# 4068871)
Professor Tracia Craig, ITMG371
American Military University
November 14, 2012

The History of Wireless Communication/Technology
Introduction
Technology in general has touched the lives of everyone on the planet. We use technology throughout our daily activities in a variety of ways, but have you ever just stopped and wondered how some of the technology we use on a daily basis such as wireless technology came about or when and where wireless technology began? Many people are amazed to find that the idea of wireless technology dates back over 200 years. Wireless technology provides a number of different options for communication. Wireless technology allow for needed communications in places where communications services are not available or only temporarily. Wireless technology eliminates the need to remain in a fixed location, such as behind a desk or tied to a land based communication system. Instead, wireless technology gives the flexibility to communicate on the go, to stay connected with the world and enjoy life outside the office.
In order to truly appreciate Wireless Communications and the benefits it has to offer, one must have a clear definition of what Wireless Communications is and the ingenuity it took to develop it. Many people have their definition, theory or misconceptions of what they think Wireless Communications is. Also, many people think that there is a major difference between Radio Communications and Wireless Communications. Contraire to popular belief, there is defiantly no difference between Radio Communications and Wireless Communications except the spelling. Wireless internet is what comes to mind when at the mention of Wireless Communications. To simplify the definition, Wireless Communications is the communication or sending of information between two or more locations without the use if wires. Wireless communications systems include “cellular telephones, pagers, radio telegraphs, satellite telephones, laptop computers, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs), shortwave radios, and two-way radios (Geier, 2006)”. They are used primarily to transmit private communications. Commercial radio and television are also wireless telecommunications systems, but radio and television are mainly public broadcast services rather than private communications systems (Geier, 2006).
Origins
Various forms of Wireless Communication date back as far as the1500 A.D. Visual signaling devices such as smoke signals, drumbeats, mirror flashes, horns or whistles, signal flags and a semaphore, a pole with movable arms, were used to transmit messages over limited distance or relay messages if the distance was too great. (FitzGerald, 1990). The non-electric telegraph was invented by Claude Chappe in 1794. It relied on the use of the semaphore and a clear viewing point. Today this form of communications is communally referred to as Line Of Sight (LOS) communications. This form of communication proved to be ineffective because of its distance limitations, message interpretation and security of the message (Jones M, 2012). It was not until the late 1800 that the Wireless Communications we see today started to take shape.
Hans Christian Oersted
The credit for the evolution of Wireless Communication technology is not solely held by just one individual. Hans Christian Oersted, Andre Marie Ampere and Michael Faraday are three early pioneers of modern technology whose discoveries of the relationship between electricity and magnetism sparked the quest for Wireless Communications. In 1820, a Danish physicist named Hans Christian Oersted discovered that electricity flowing through a wire can create an electromagnetic field (Than, 2009).

Andre Marie Ampere
Later that year after hearing about the discovery of Oersted, the French Physicist, Mathematician, Chemist and Philosopher Andre Marie Ampere expanded the work of Oersted to develop mathematical and physical theory to understand the relationship between electricity and magnetism. Ampere formulated a law of electromagnetism often referred to as Ampere’s Law. Ampere’s Law states that “The magnetic field in space around an electric current is proportional to the electric current which serves as its source, just as the electric field in space is proportional to the charge which serves as its source. Ampere's Law states that for any closed loop path, the sum of the length elements times the magnetic field in the direction of the length element is equal to the permeability times the electric current enclosed in the loop (Physics, 2012).” The unit for measuring electric current the Ampere or Amp is named after Andre Marie Ampere. In 1831 an English Chemist and Physicist, Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction. “Electromagnetic induction is the production of voltage across a conductor moving through a magnetic field (Jones, 2012). Faraday’s discovery leads to the invention of the modern day transformer and the electric generator.
Alexander Graham Bell “Telephone Man”
The telephone, one of todays most loved and hated inventions was created by Alexander Graham Bell in September of 1875. “Telephone comes from the Greek word tele, meaning from afar, and phone, meaning voice or voiced sound (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2012).” In the early 1870s, Alexander Graham Bell, along with the competition Elisha Grey, was both working on a device that would enable voice (speech) to be transmitted through electrical means. Both men worked to get their device to the patent office first, but it was Bell who by a mere 1 hour and 42 minutes got his invention patented first. For many years Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell battled in court over the invention of the telephone, but in the end, Bell won and claimed the title of inventor of the telephone (Bellis, The History of the Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell, 2012).
James Clerk Maxwell
In the late 1870s, James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist, mathematician and who many considered the father of modern physics developed a scientific theory to explain electromagnetic waves. Maxwell used all the knowledge, experiments, equation and observations gathered from Hans Christian Oersted, Andre Marie Ampere and Michael Faraday and developed one “unified and consistent theory.” Using four mathematical equations, later known as Maxwell’s Equations, Maxwell demonstrate that electricity, magnetism and light are all manifestations of the electromagnetic field and electrical and electromagnetic phenomena acted through waves. This was known as the Theory of Electromagnetic radiation in which Maxwell also predicted the existence of radio waves (Bellis, 2012).
Heinrich Hertz
Heinrich Hertz, a German physicist, continued on where Maxwell left off in the study of electromagnetic radiations. Between 1883 and 1889, Hertz began to apply Maxwell’s four equations and test his theories of electromagnetic Hertz constructed a construct a spark-gap receiver/transmitter, a device that generated radio waves from an electric spark and proved that electricity can be transmitted in electromagnetic waves or radio waves similar to the way light and heat is transmitted (Jefferson, 2012). Heinrich Hertz’s name also became the term used for the unit of measurement for radio and electrical frequencies: hertz (Hz), as in kilohertz (kHz) or megahertz (MHz). Heinrich Hertz’s research paved the way for the development of modern day radio, television, and radar.
Guglielmo Marconi ``The Birth of Radio''
Heinrich Hertz’s research was very much its infancy stage and it wasn’t until 1895 Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian Electrical Engineer, who is also considered the “Father of Modern Radio”, developed a device based on Hertz’s spark-gap receiver/transmitter that would successfully transmit and receive wireless signals over greater distances. In 1896, with the assistance and backing of Sir William Preece, Engineer-in-Chief of the Post Office in England, Marconi received the world’s first patent for his wireless telegraph system (Jean Paul Linnartz' , 2012). With the success of Marconi’s wireless telegraph, in 1897 he opened his own communication company; The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company Limited which was later re-named Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company Limited (The Nobel Foundation , 2012). In 1909, Guglielmo Marconi was awarded Nobel prize for physics. Transoceanic Communication
In 1901, Marconi built the first Transoceanic Telegraph Transmitter which transmitted a Morse code message, pip-pip-pip, the letter “S”, from Poldhu, Cornwall, England across the English Channel to St. John’s, Newfoundland. That was a distance of 2,100 miles. In 1902 the first complete verifiable message was transmitted again from Poldhu, Cornwall, England to Sydney Australia. Now proven in the eyes of the world, Marconi wireless technology, later known as the radio telegraph, would be adapted to work on merchant ships, installed in light houses and communicate messages between various nations. Marconi would continue to make improvements to his wireless telegraph system that would eventually bridge the communication gap between England, France, the United States and nearly every country around the world (Bellis, The Invention of Radio, 2012). It was not until 1943 that the U.S. Supreme Court over turned Guglielmo Marconi’s patent for the wireless radio and awarded the invention of the radio to Nikola Tesla (Bergman, 2012).
Sir John Ambrose Fleming “The Dawn of Electronics”
In 1904, Sir John Ambrose Fleming, some say to be the Founder of Electronics invented the thermionic valve, also known as a vacuum tube, a diode, or a Fleming valve (Bergman, 2012). Sir John Ambrose Fleming, a professor of Electrical Engineering at the University College London and Cambridge was a consultant that worked with Guglielmo Marconi to send the first transatlantic message. Fleming, working from the design of the electric light bulb made by Thomas Edison, discovered the ability of a vacuum tube to convert alternating current into direct current. The development of vacuum tubes or diodes greatly improved the radio receiver/transmitter developed earlier by Guglielmo Marconi. In 1929, Sir John Ambrose Fleming was bestowed the honor of knighthood for his contributions to the world of science. Fleming thermionic valve would pave the way for the future of wireless communications. The development of the TV, radio communications, computer, projectors and the entire electronic industry can be traced back to the invention of the diode.
Voice over Radio
There many other significant scientific contributions to the evolution of wireless communications. December 23, 1900, Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian Chemical Engineer invented a device and transmitted the very first voice message from an island in the Potomac River to his associate one mile away. Six years later, Fessenden refined his invention and conducted a Christmas Eve broadcast of music and voice messages from his home in Brant Rock, Massachusetts (Federal Communications Commission, 2012). Also that same year, Lee de Forest, an American inventor, invented the triode amplifier which merely improved the vacuum tube designed created by Sir John Ambrose Fleming. Lee de Forest’s triode amplifier used three vacuum tubes and capable of detecting, controlling and amplifying radio signals to broadcast music and voice over radio signals. Lee de Forest didn’t receive the fame and fortune as he thought. His money was tied up in a legal battle between his partners and others who exploited his invention. Both Reginald Fessenden and Lee de Forest are credited with the birth of broadcast radio.
Wireless communications was beginning to grow. It wasn’t till the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 that wireless communication solidified it place in the world. More than 1,500 people lost their life when the Titanic was struck by an iceberg. The 700 people that did survive owe their lives to the two radio operators that transmitted distress messages till the bitter end. The radio operators sent over 250 messages that were heard as far away as Italy. It was later confirmed that a ship less than four miles away could have responded to the Titanic’s distress calls but due to the radio operator was off duty, the passing ship never received the messages. The sinking of the Titanic brought about new regulations in the field of mandatory communications. Every ship carrying more than 50 people had to have a full radio set with a transmission range of 2000 miles with 24 hour radio monitoring capability (Federal Communications Commission, 2012).
The American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) was initially established in 1875 as the Bell Telephone Company by three men, Alexander Graham Bell, Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders. In the late 1880s, due to the patents held by Alexander Bell, AT&T had a monopoly on all telephone services in the United States. AT&T was given the task to provide long distance telephone services that would initially connect New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. Alexander Graham Bell’s patent on the telephone expired in 1894 which gave the opportunity for other communication to join the market. AT&T was established and well invested that other smaller communication organizations couldn’t compete. In August of 1915, long distance services had reached the Pacific coast (AT&T Corp, 2012).
The Cellular Era
During the late 1920 and early 30s, two-way radios and mobile transmitters were developed and being used more and more by law enforcement, fire department, search and rescue and other medical and safety organizations. June 17th 1945, Alton Dickieson and Donald Mitchell of Bell Labs and H.I. Romnes, CEO of AT&T conducted the first mobile telephone experiment/call. Using a delivery truck and driver, Dickieson, Mitchell and Romnes successfully placed a phone call from the front seat of the delivery truck to Bell Labs (AT&T, 2012). Over the next two years, public mobile telephone services began to be in high demand. Cellular technology wasn’t as affordable, convenient and compact like it is today. Mobile service cost on the average of $15 per month, 40 cents per local call and the mobile equipment weight slightly less than 100 pounds (AT&T, 2012). To spite all that, mobile phone services spread to over a hundred cities coast to coast. By the latter part of 1960s there were an estimated 1.5 million mobile telephone subscribers (Shea, 2011). Mobile technology is born but still had a ways to go.
Merriam-Webster defines Cellular technology/phone as “A portable device that uses wireless/cellular service to send and receive voice calls and data.” That would not hold true if it wasn’t for famed the inventor, Dr. Martin Cooper. Dr. Martin Cooper was the Director of Research and Development at Motorola. Cooper developed the first handheld cellular telephone, the Motorola Dyna-Tac 8000X (weighed 2.5 lbs., 30 individual circuit boards, no display screen, 9”x5”x1.75”, 10 hours to charge for 35 minutes of use) (Leard, 2004). Bell labs and Motorola for many years had been in a race to develop and market the first mobile cell phone. April 3rd 1973, Dr. Martin Cooper while walking down the streets of Manhattan New York made the first cellular phone call to Joel Engel of Bell Labs marking Motorola’s success in the race for cellular dominance. Dr. Cooper’s development of the portable cellular phone, the Motorola Dyna-Tac 8000X sparked the cellular revolution that has and will continue to generate billions in revenue.
Wireless Local Area Networks
Communication between computers was done point to point via a hardline connection. The first wireless Local Area Network (LAN) was developed in 1968 at the University of Hawaii. In June 1971, the ALOHANET, named by its creators, Norman Abramson, Frank Kuo, N. Gaarder and N. Weldon went operational and allowed computers at seven different remote terminal sites on four different islands communicate via radio signal with a central computer located at the University of Hawaii. The ALOHANET’s architecture was developed using a star topology and works off a system of protocols Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) or the ALOHA protocols also developed by Abramson and his team (Margolis, 2009). The Ethernet later developed from the design model of the ALOHANET. The Ethernet was developed in 1976 by Xerox, DEC and Intel. The Ethernet similar to the ALOHANET uses a bus or star topology in conjunction with CSMA/CD (Mitchell, 2012).
Conclusion
It is always important to understand where something comes from in order to better appreciate the benefits it provides. Wireless communications/technology has become an essential part of many people lives and without a doubt changed the way we work, play and interact. Wireless communications/technology has helped bring medical assistance to remote areas of the world where traditional communications is nonexistent. Wireless communications/technology will continue to better humanity but one must not forget the pioneers of such technology. We must not forget about the scientist and visionaries that had an idea or theory and took a chance to prove it to the world. Inspiration is a powerful drug that if left untapped will cease to exist.

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